


rises the moon

by cupsofstardust



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Late Night Conversations, Love Confessions, M/M, Pre-Time Skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:07:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24687370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cupsofstardust/pseuds/cupsofstardust
Summary: "Sleep will not come easily tonight, I just know it.""Then I shall stay at your side, if you will allow it."
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Dedue Molinaro
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	rises the moon

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to brother oomf Dimitri!
> 
> Dima, I love you so much T_T. Happy birthday!!! I hope you like reading this as much as I liked writing it. Don't know if it's very good since it's my first time writing them butjskfjdfk I hope you like it nonetheless. Dimidue just... they are so.... [chef's kiss] y'know?
> 
> Anyway. I hope you have the best birthday ever I love you!! <3

The greenhouse is quiet at night. 

Or, quiet _er._ It's always quiet among the flora, but at night especially so. When in use, the greenhouse is abuzz with footsteps and running water and shovels on stone. 

Now, with the moon shining through the glass above him, it is eerily silent, and still. Even the specters that plague him have gone quiet for the moment.

In this rare and, he fears, _fleeting_ moment of peace, Dimitri finds himself quite literally stopping to smell the roses. He runs the pad of his thumb over a velvet petal, sitting on cold cobbles in the light of the moon.

He hums a quiet melody to himself absently, something he'd overheard Annette singing in the dining hall the other day. It sounded like a song about grilled herring and peach sorbet, but he hardly remembers the words.

He's almost able to tune everything else out like this—the rustling of leaves and the chirping of insects and the quiet, steady trickle of water from the irrigation system—but then the sound of footsteps outside startles him; he'd thought it far too late for anyone else to be awake.

He entertains the idea that it's the professor—Dimitri's seen him go into the greenhouse on many occasions—but dismisses the notion outright. As far as he's seen, the professor has no trouble falling or staying asleep.

It might just be a guard patrolling the area, but their footsteps tend to sound more militant, harsh and accompanied by the clanking of armor. No, these footsteps are quiet, mindful of the hour. 

They approach the door and Dimitri wonders if he should get up, but there is nowhere to go. So he stays where he is, and looks up when he hears the door open, peeking around the rose bush to see who it is. 

He's surprised to find Dedue, looking tired but content, smiling softly as he kneels next to a tiny bud near the entrance. His mouth is moving, but Dimitri cannot hear what he's saying. He looks like he's just woken up, his hair loose and the laces of his linen shirt untied.

Dimitri allows himself to admire the swath of skin underneath, just for a moment, before his gaze drifts back up to his face and traces his jaw. 

In the moonlight, his profile is striking. It softens him, and it occurs to Dimitri that he looks his age, for once. He is even more handsome like this, relaxed and content in a way he never allows himself to be, and something in Dimitri's hollow chest aches.

Dedue straightens up after another moment, venturing further into the greenhouse, presumably to check on the other new plants, and Dimitri suddenly feels the inexplicable need to hide himself, as though if he doesn't he'll be caught red-handed.

He lifts himself off the ground and moves over a little, just to buy himself a few more moments of unfettered impropriety before Dedue inevitably notices him. 

Dedue stops under a beam of moonlight, close enough for Dimitri to see the way it makes his eyes glitter. A small smile finds its way onto his face, and his hand falls away from the flowers he'd been admiring.

He watches as Dedue frowns, finds a pair of pruning shears, and cuts away a portion of a bush. When he's satisfied, he hums softly to himself and tucks them away again. 

Dimitri realizes belatedly that he’s fully visible as Dedue turns around and stiffens in an instant. The way his expression turns on a dime, from sleepy and open and content to something neutral and repressed, physically pains Dimitri.

"Your Highness," Dedue says, his voice measured— _guarded._

Dimitri _hates_ it. He moves to stand up, saying, "I didn't mean to disturb you. If you want me to leave, I'll—"

"No, you shouldn't—" Dedue interrupts, then blinks, as if surprised at himself. "Do not leave on my behalf. I merely wanted to check on the queen of the night."

Dimitri stands anyway, dusting off his pants. "Which one is that? I don’t think I’ve seen it."

"You wouldn't have. No one has, yet." At Dimitri’s cocked brow, he continues, "It blooms for one night every two years, and I am lucky enough to be here to see it. Come dawn, it will have wilted."

"Fascinating," Dimitri murmurs, and Dedue nods. "May I accompany you?" He immediately bites his tongue and backpedals. "That is, if you'd rather be alone I understand, but... I would very much like to see it."

It's not entirely a lie. He _would_ like to see the flower in bloom, but he would also like to spend more time with Dedue like this, when he is comfortable and sleepy and bright eyed with love for something so dear to him. It's a rare sight, this.

"Of course," Dedue replies. "You need not ask for permission, Your Highness."

With that, he leads the way further into the greenhouse, back straight and expression stoic. The air between them is taut with a strange tension, so thick it feels hard to breathe it.

Dimitri presses his lips together, then gently clears his throat. "If I am making you uncomfortable, I'll go. It is not my intention to ruin your night, and you seem quite... withdrawn. Do not feel as if you must spare my feelings."

Dedue hesitates for a moment, then deflates a little. "My apologies. I did not expect you to be here, is all. I'm not uncomfortable, nor do I want you to leave. I was just... surprised."

Out of the corner of his eye, Dimitri sees him relax almost imperceptibly, and he smiles to himself. They come to a stop in front of a prickly plant and Dedue kneels down beside it. There are a few curious looking rose-pink buds that have already started to open, revealing the white flower within.

Dimitri sits next to him, watching as he takes up another pair of shears and turns his attention to the flowering bush beside the queen of the night, snipping away at dead leaves and pulling up weeds. 

"What are those flowers called?" Dimitri asks, leaning forward for a better view of them.

"Dicentra spectabilis," he answers. "Most people refer to them as bleeding hearts for their unusual shape. My sister used to call them ladies in a bath." He gently takes one of the buds between his thumb and forefinger and turns it on its head, pulling the magenta petals apart to reveal the white tendrils within.

"Oh! It does look quite like a lady, doesn't it?"

There's a brief pause while Dedue finds a small stake and carefully ties it to the stem of a drooping flower. 

"You seem to like flowers a lot," Dimitri remarks as Dedue finally sits back on his heels and wipes the dirt from his palms.

"Yes," Dedue agrees, something soft and gentle in his voice. When he continues, it's with an air of wistfulness. "In Duscur, the only way to get flowers was to venture elsewhere, as most of the soil was too coarse to grow anything, and we used the good patches to grow our food."

He pauses, seeming to lose himself in a memory for a moment. "Every Sunday, my father would surprise my mother with a beautiful bouquet and she would display it on the table, though how he was able to obtain them when his work kept him so busy I will never know. I think that is just how much he loved her."

He pauses again, then shakes his head. "But enough about that. The past is the past, after all. I won't bore you with stories of mine."

"I'm not bored at all." Dimitri pulls his knees to his chest and rests his chin on top of them. "Whatever you wish to talk about, I will listen."

Dedue doesn't respond to that, just as Dimitri expected. Instead, he sits back, mirroring Dimitri’s position, his arms wrapped loosely around his legs, and says, "Your Highness—"

"Dimitri," he amends, and Dedue blinks, then clears his throat and continues.

"Forgive me if this is rude, but I cannot help but wonder why you're here at this hour."

Dimitri slumps, sighing into his knees. "I could not sleep, so I gave up trying, and I ended up here. At least something good came of it; you're here now."

Then he tenses, belatedly realizing the implications of what he's said. Before he can open his mouth to apologize or take it back, Dedue is smiling a sort of private, pleased little smile, that Dimitri thinks he probably isn’t meant to see it but he cannot for the life of him make himself look away.

"Yes," he agrees softly. "Tonight has been full of surprises thus far."

Dimitri's face reddens, and he rests his arms across his knees and tucks his face into them in an attempt to hide it. He turns his attention to the queen of the night, whose blooms have opened a bit further, and then his gaze drifts upwards, towards the moon just beyond the glass panes. 

Dedue's gaze falls on him and he can _feel_ it, and his face reddens further. It's likely obvious by now, as they're sitting in full moonlight mere feet from each other, but Dedue doesn't say anything, so Dimitri doesn't either.

Eventually, his gaze falls away, and though Dimitri can breathe again it feels as if he's lost something.

"What made you come to the greenhouse?"

Dimitri starts, then turns to look at him. "What?"

Dedue shifts minutely. "Of all the places in the monastery, you came here. Why?"

He opens his mouth to answer but nothing comes out. He tries again. "I... it feels safe here, I suppose. Calm." _It feels like you,_ he doesn't say.

Dedue hums. "It does, doesn't it." He pauses and Dimitri catches the slightest hint of embarrassment on his face, a miniscule tinge of red across his nose. "Your Highness—"

"Dimitri," he insists, again, but Dedue barrels on.

"—I want you to know that, should you ever feel unsafe, you can always come to me."

It’s Dimitri's turn to flush, his heart beating a furious, lovestruck tattoo within its cage. He bites down on the very simple, very _dangerous_ words on the tip of his tongue and swallows them. "Oh, um... I will... keep that in mind. Thank you, Dedue."

"Of course," he murmurs in response. "Anything for you."

Dimitri nestles his face against his arms again, hoping to hide how flustered he is, and turns his gaze back to the queen of the night. Slow as it is, the flowers are opening sure as the moon is rising. 

"It will not be long now," Dedue says, his eyes trained on the flowers as well. "What will you do once it has bloomed?"

"Hm?"

Dedue glances sidelong at him. "Where will you go?"

He sighs, burying his face in his arms. "I don't know." His voice comes out muffled against his shirtsleeves. "Sleep will not come easily tonight, I just know it."

Dedue is quiet for a long moment. "Then I shall stay at your side, if you will allow it."

His heart skips a step, though his mouth objects. "We have a lecture tomorrow morning; the professor will not be happy."

"And you need me now, so let the professor be upset with us. His wrath is not the worst I could face."

He huffs a quiet laugh. "His wrath is formidable though, especially with the Remire mission so soon. I suppose we will just have to make it up to him by pushing ourselves even harder."

It grows quiet; they watch the flower before them, slowly but surely blossoming into something as pure and white as snow in moonlight. The spindly, fleshy tendrils that had been protecting the bud now radiate from the bottom of the flower.

"It's lovely," Dedue murmurs, his eyes shining.

Dimitri looks at him, so open and content and _beautiful,_ and his expression melts into a soft smile. "Indeed."

Dedue's eyes meet his, and he's practically glowing under the moon, ethereal and angelic and so painfully _real._ Dimitri doesn't bother trying to hide the way his breath catches in his chest.

"Dedue, I..." He puffs out a soft breath and looks down and away, gaze resting on the cobbles. "I must confess something to you, and you may think differently of me afterwards, but the risk is little compared to the pain of hiding it."

He looks back up, meets Dedue’s eyes again, and draws a breath.

"I am in love with you, so utterly that it hurts."

Dedue's lips part in surprise. For a moment, he doesn't say anything, and Dimitri feels as though the ground is crumbling under his feet. 

It feels too hot, suddenly, and he stammers, "You don't—you don't have to say anything, I am aware of the... the restrictions, and-and public opinion, but I just... I needed to tell you. I-I'm sorry, I'll—"

"Your Highness."

"—I should go. I'm sorry for springing that on you, I know it can't be easy to hear something like that and I-I wasn't thinking, and I'm _so_ sorry, I should've considered—"

_"Your Highness."_

"—how you would feel about it, and you're my vassal, so it's unfair of me to even think of putting you in a position like this, especially because—"

_"Dimitri."_

All the air rushes out of his lungs in an instant. 

"You—"

Dedue's voice wrapped around his name has him dizzy; it has never had any right to sound as lovely as it does in his mouth. His mouth, which, Dimitri notes, vaguely, is turning up in a smile.

"I didn't mean to worry you, I was... surprised. It seems to be a pattern tonight." He laughs, quiet and warm, and Dimitri is utterly enraptured. "I must confess, as well, that I was hoping my feelings were reciprocated."

A surprised, elated, _relieved_ laugh bubbles out of Dimitri's chest.

The flower opens.

And Dimitri kisses him.

His hands cradle Dedue's face, fingertips just barely brushing his hair, and one of Dedue's own wraps around his wrist, his thumb resting over his fluttering pulse. Dimitri sighs, and he feels Dedue smile a little, and he smiles back.

When they part, Dedue's face is flushed, and then his gaze falls on the queen of the night and he exhales in awe.

Dimitri turns to look as well, but his attention is only on the flower for a moment before he looks back to Dedue.

"Was it worth the wait?" Dimitri asks.

Dedue takes his hand and presses a sweet, chaste kiss to it, and then smiles at him, all content and pleased and bashful. "Completely."

**Author's Note:**

> I listened to a lot of classical music and [rises the moon](https://open.spotify.com/album/295qW3R6DSM1WfePwUpgux?highlight=spotify:track:51Grh1RyUDcMBbpuyUIUHI) by Liana Flores while writing this (it was also the inspiration for the title oops) and personally I think... Dimitri song. That's just my opinion though. Also yes the Queen of the Night only grows in tropical climates yes I know Garreg Mach is not tropical no I do not care thank you.
> 
> But I digress. Happy birthday again Dimitri! Hope you liked this <3


End file.
